Petals of a Rose
by YourAngelicVampyre
Summary: Robin bets he can make Raven blush. She bets he can't. What's the worst that could happen? Fluff. One-shot. RobRae.


Robin bets he can make Raven laugh. She bets he can't. What's the worst that could happen?

* * *

"For the millionth time, Starfire," sighed Raven, "I don't want to go."

Starfire's eyes widened as if this was a life or death situation. "Friend Raven, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"Do you really think I care about makeup?"

"Friend Raven, it would be a nice change! The blush is eighty percent off, the eyeshadows are off by half, and for each purchase, one gets free concealer!"

Raven cocked an eyebrow. "My cloak is perfectly capable of concealing me."

After several more minutes of beseeching, Starfire finally admitted defeat. With Cyborg and Beast Boy in tow, the three teenagers headed off to the local mall in Jump City, in which a huge sale was going on. While the two boys weren't going to be found going ballistic in the makeup department, they were guaranteed to be wreaking havoc in the video game section. Then there was Robin. Raven didn't know why he wasn't going to the mall, but she did know that she was glad he wasn't playing his obnoxious music.

"She's right, you know," said Robin, who was flipping through channels on the television.

"About?"

"You really could use a little color. Maybe a little blush or eyeshadow would bring out your eyes."

"Well, of course you'd be the expert," said Raven dismissively as she turned a page in her book.

Robin wrinkled his nose. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing," she said. "It's just that you do wear a lot of spandex."

Robin didn't respond for a few moments. Whoever said Raven didn't have a sense of humor obviously didn't know her. Without a doubt, she was more complex than people gave her credit for, simply because of her gothic stereotype. That didn't mean he was going to let her get away with that little comment, though. "Still reading about Mr. Darcy?"

Raven's mouth opened, indicating that she was flabbergasted. A week ago, Robin had caught her reading _Pride and Prejudice _on the tower's rooftop as the sun was setting. She had been feeling sentimental, but had been hoping that none of her friends would find her reading a love story. Robin, who could actually be a ghost despite how he was dressed as a walking traffic light, had snuck up on her before she could hide the novel. Frankly, it seemed like she would never be able to live down the embarrassment and would have to endure relentless teasing.

Robin grinned. "You're blushing."

"I am not!" exclaimed Raven, averting her gaze.

"Raven, it's perfectly fine to blush."

"I wasn't blushing," the Azarathian obstinately defied.

Robin slid over from his end of the couch, his face just a few inches away from hers. "Well, if that's the case, I bet I can make you blush."

Raven lifted a defined eyebrow. "Oh?"

Robin smirked. "Yes, I bet that if I can make you blush before the others come back, you have to go out on a date with me."

"I don't want to go on a date with you! And I don't blush!"

"Then what do you possibly have to lose?"

Raven considered this. If she truly wasn't worried about this scenario, why wasn't she taking advantage of the situation by coming up with interesting terms of her own? This would offer her the perfect opportunity to one-up him from the love story debacle. Relenting, she said, "Fine. But, you'll have to spend the night under Beast Boy's bed when I win."

"Cocky, aren't we?" whispered Robin in her ear.

With a bite of her lip, Raven told him, "It takes one to know one."

With his lips curled upwards, Robin snatched her book out of her grasp and chucked it over the back of the couch. "Game on," he murmured, lips barely gracing her earlobe.

As absurd as it may sound (particularly since a rather attractive male was making a move on her), Raven was furious. She tried smacking his arm, but he caught her wrist before contact could be made. He twisted her around, pulling her body flush against his, which put her in his lap. Menacingly, the empath said, "That was a first edition copy."

"And I'm sure the author appreciates how much you care from the grave he must be rolling over in," chirped Robin, who wrapped his arms around Raven's waist and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"She. Margaret Mitchell wrote _Gone with the Wind. _And I'm sure she doesn't appreciate your tardiness, either. She was hit by a car, you know."

"See? Traffic lights do have their charm!"

"Yet, I fail to find yours." Raven smirked.

In retaliation, Robin began tickling her. With uncontrollable laughter, and a surprising amount of control over her powers, Raven started squirming in the hopes of achieving escape. Unfortunately for her, her attempts proved futile, which eventually led to her begging for mercy. After a few more minutes, Robin yielded, and contented himself by studying Raven's face.

"You know," he said slowly, "you really should smile more."

"And why is that?"

"It's rare to find girls with smiles as pretty as yours," he honestly told her, brushing back a lock of her violet hair. A pause. "Are you hungry?"

Trying hard not to blush, the empath blurted, "Really? Is food always on the minds of the male species?"

Robin shrugged, and to Raven's chagrin, he proceeded by lifting her up. On their way to the kitchen, she made several threats, such as teleporting his body to some uninhabitable dimension where his body would fester and chopping off his testicles to feed to Slade. They were all rather colorful, and would have most likely made any guy that wasn't Robin take pause and/or pee his pants. Unsurprisingly, the puissant leader disregarded the threats, and actually started to whistle merrily.

When they were in the kitchen, Robin began to make a specialty of his: red velvet cake. While he prepared the sugary goodness, he began to sing a song that Raven may have heard once, but didn't actually recognize.

_Beauty queen of only eighteen  
She had some trouble with herself  
He was always there to help her  
She always belonged to someone else_

_I drove for miles and miles  
And wound up at your door  
I've had you so many times but somehow  
I want more_

_I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile  
And she will be loved  
She will be loved…._

Raven admitted that he looked rather cute as he glided gracefully around the kitchen to retrieve the necessities for the dessert, all the while singing. While he clearly wasn't tone deaf, Raven could tell that he was off key even though she wasn't familiar with the song. She and Robin had always been close; it was a given. They were teammates, and also shared a bond that strengthened their relationship. The two of them trusted each other and often clung to each for support when one was momentarily down. Their sarcastic banter was just a bonus.

When Robin added a positively ridiculous looking pirouette to his performance, Raven almost burst out with laughter. Beaming, he whirled around in order to see her facial expression. Before he could, however, she whipped her head to the side, which made her hair frame the side of her face. She didn't want to risk the possibility of her blushing.

Mischievously, Robin fished the spoon out from the icing container, which was mostly empty now. After scooping up the majority of the icing remainder, the team leader made his way towards Raven. Tsking, Robin told his companion, "Cheating isn't fair, Rae-Rae."

Defiantly, the Azarathian looked up and said, "I don't cheat."

Before she could turn away once more, Robin gingerly whipped out the spoon, coating her right cheek in red icing. The empath narrowed her eyes. Before he could leap out of the way, Raven lunged forward. They rolled around for a minute or so, trying to get the upper hand. Ultimately, Raven managed to win the childish competition and had smeared the rest of the icing on the spoon on his nose.

Pouting, the Boy Wonder whined, "That's not fair." A pause. "But, would you look at that! I was right!" Upon seeing her confusion, he explained, "A little color does look good on you. It brings out the amethyst in your eyes." Smirking, he flicked out his index finger, gathering the majority of the icing on her cheek and, to her surprise, he sucked the icing off. Almost blushing, she stood up and proceeded to wipe away the rest with a cloth.

Approximately thirty minutes later, the two teenagers were enjoying a scrumptious cake. Raven had to admit that Robin was a delightful cook, which brought about a question. "Who taught you how to cook?"

Robin faltered, no doubt thinking about how to answer without giving away too much about his past. "One of my closest friends, Alfred, was a culinary master. If I hadn't learned, he probably would have killed me."

"Then why all the takeout?"

"Well, if word got out to my enemies that Batman's protégé can battle it out with the top chefs, my reputation would forever be ruined."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Cyborg cooks."

Robin deadpanned, "Cyborg is one of the most intimidating people you'll ever meet. Even in an apron, he could probably make foes run in the opposite direction… kinda like Beast Boy's glow in the dark underpants."

This was news to Raven, but she didn't voice her doubts. "Well, you can be pretty scary, too. You have that ninja thing going for you, as well as mysteriousness that most girls seem to like nowadays."

"Shame. The girl I like isn't like most girls." Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she could tell that his gaze was intense. Accidentally dropping her fork, she had an excuse to escape his line of vision to recover from the butterflies going on a rampage in the pit of her stomach. Ever since the near destruction of the planet about a year ago, Raven had harbored a crush on the Boy Blunder. Ever since that realization, she had tried her hardest to fight the feelings.

An hour later, the two teammates found themselves lounging lackadaisically in the living room. Well, almost. Raven and Robin were wrestling for control over the television remote. "Screw it," muttered Raven, who wrapped her aura around the inanimate object and sent it spiraling out of Robin's reach.

Tutting, Robin exclaimed, "Raven, Raven, Raven, aren't you just the epitome of cheating?"

"No rules, remember?" called Raven. They hadn't established further terms other than what would be gained.

"Well, if that's the case…"

Ever so slowly, Robin leaned forward. Involuntarily, Raven's eyes fluttered shut. After a moment, his lips barely brushed against hers, soft and warm. Gingerly, as if afraid she might break, Robin's arms encircled her waist, firm, yet gentle. For a minute or so, the two birds were lost in their own little world of happiness, embracing the emotions they had both been denying themselves of for such a long time.

Just before the doors opened to reveal Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, Raven and Robin broke apart, staring at each other. Brushing back a lock of her violet hair once again, Robin smiled and whispered, "I win."

Ignoring the reactions of his fellow teammates and friends, Robin crashed his lips upon Raven's once more, drowning out any protest Raven could have made. Sure, he was cocky, but he'd be her cocky bird, always there to fly with her to unbelievable heights and to catch her if she falls. But, no matter how much be begged like a puppy dog, she wouldn't be caught dead wearing makeup. After all, life simply wasn't fair at times.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot. I felt like I needed a break from my darker story, which brought about this. Let me know what you think? (:

Thanks for reading! x


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